Clinical Research Informaticist

Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

The Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago, embedded within the Cardiology Section, seeks a Clinical Research Informaticist to design functional specifications for data requests to the CRDW and MDClone. You will meet with faculty to translate research needs into technical data solutions and help streamline intake processes across CRI.

Responsibilities include collaborating with clinicians, data stewards, and researchers; developing specifications, supporting administrative

Qualifications

• Education or experience in data management for clinical research.
• 2–5 years of related work experience as described in the job posting.
• Experience translating clinical requirements into data specifications.

Responsibilities

• Meet with faculty and researchers to translate data requests into specifications for CRDW and MDClone.
• Serve as liaison between clinicians, researchers, and data stewards to streamline data acquisition.
• Identify data sources for data warehouses and data marts, local and distributed.
• Assist in preparing self-service data from various applications.
• Support publications, presentations, and grant proposals.
• Oversee project portfolio within Cardiology Data Center with CRI leadership.

Skills

Statistical software (R, Stata, SAS)

Tableau / BI tools

Data governance & data warehousing

Client communication & requirements, g

Education

Bachelor's degree in a health/IT field

Epic Cosmos Super User certification

MDClone Super User certification

RN/DNP/MD licensure (plus)

Epic Report Builder / Caboodle certifications

Tools

REDCap EDC

MDClone platform

Epic systems

Job description

About The Department

The Center for Research Informatics (CRI) is an organization within the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) that provides informatics resources and services to the BSD faculty. Five main services comprise the CRI's operations: applications development, bioinformatics, scientific computing, data science and AI, and clinical research data warehousing. Through these service lines, the CRI enables research of the highest scientific merit and advances the state of the art of clinical and translational informatics. The CRI recruits exceptional candidates looking to leverage state‑of‑the‑art technologies to deliver innovative and exciting solutions to biomedical researchers.

Job Summary

The Clinical Research Informaticist will be embedded in the Department of Medicine’s Section of Cardiology and will be responsible for meeting with faculty and research teams to develop and design functional project specifications for research data requests. The Clinical Research Informaticist will spend 50% of time meeting with faculty and research teams, 30% of time developing specifications, and 20% of time improving processes and workflows to optimize the CRI’s intake process as well as supporting various administrative tasks affiliated with the acquisition and positioning of new data sources. This position is 80% funded through Cardiology and 20% through the Center for Research Informatics.

Responsibilities

• Meet with faculty, residents, clinicians, and students (clients) to develop and design functional project specifications for data requests from the Clinical Research Data Warehouse (CRDW) and the MDClone application.
• Act as a liaison between clinicians, researchers, and data stewards to streamline data acquisition processes.
• Understand data extractions and identify new data sources for the data warehouses and affiliated data marts, both local and distributed.
• Assist in the preparation of self‑service data from various applications.
• Preparation of scientific publications, presentations, and grant proposals.
• Oversee the prioritization and portfolio of Cardiology Data Center projects in partnership with the faculty lead and the CRI’s Center Director; includes the planning, design, implementation, and completion of all projects.
• Provide ongoing feedback and support to clients to understand how available data sources align with project needs while working with the team to facilitate an understanding of client’s goals.
• Ensure that activities dependent upon the CRDW and self‑service applications adhere to relevant regulations, industry standards, and internal policies.
• With moderate direction from others, conduct business process analyses, needs assessments, and preliminary cost/benefits analyses. Uses basic understanding of applicable business processes, systems, and industry requirements.
• Implement functional, system, and program specifications. Assist in revising existing system logic difficulties as necessary, under the direction of more experienced colleagues.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.

Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2‑5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced degree in a health‑related field.

Experience:

• 1 year of clinical experience.
• Experience with the clinical research processes.
• 6‑month experience with clinical quality improvement processes and project management, cardiology preferred.
• Experience with the AHA Get With the Guideline program.
• Experience with AAMCs.
• Experience navigating a matrixed organizational structure.
• Experience translating between clinical and data ontologies.
• Experience facilitating groups with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience investigating data issues and working with a cross‑functional team for problem resolution.
• Experience with statistical software such as R, Stata, and SAS.
• Experience with Tableau or other business intelligence tools.

Certifications Required:

• Epic Cosmos Super User certification required within 6 months of employment.
• MDClone Super User certification required within 6 months of employment.

Additional Certifications (a plus):

• Epic Report Builder, Epic Caboodle, or other related Epic certifications.
• RN, DNP, MD, or other clinical licensure.

Technical Skills or Knowledge

• Knowledge of healthcare data including ICD‑9, ICD‑10, and CPT.
• Academic medical center knowledge.
• Medical terminology knowledge.

Preferred Competencies

• Ability to work collaboratively with cross‑functional teams including but not limited to bioinformaticists, software developers, system administrators, and hospital reporting teams.
• High level of problem solving and decision‑making skills.
• Excellent communication skills, working directly with clients and the team to translate clinical research deliverables into technically viable data extraction needs.
• Ability to understand faculty research requirements and translate them to technologies.
• Ability to develop functional project specifications.
• Ability to elicit cooperation and maintain productive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to translate technical information to non‑technical audiences.
• Critical thinking and multi‑tasking skills with the ability to manage multiple projects.
• Time management skills.
• Proficiency in creating technical specifications, business cases, and other development‑related documentation.
• Proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel, and web‑based applications.
• Proficiency with AgileMD software.
• Proficiency with REDCap EDC software.
• Ability to manage, interpret, and present data.
• Self‑motivated given appropriate direction for goals. Must be able to work autonomously in a sometimes ambiguous and changing environment.
• Intellectual curiosity.
• Energized by working through complex problems.

The University of Chicago is an equal‑opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.